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Quotable Quotes: Byes & Bookmarks

How does Sloane Stephens feel about being in the running for Istanbul? What gift from the Chinese fans really impressed Andrea Petkovic? Which WTA star is a great negotiator? Read on to find out...

Published October 09, 2013 12:01

Li Na

BEIJING, China - From the race to the TEB BNP Paribas WTA Championships to silk market negotiations to gifts from the fans, the WTA stars talked about it all at the China Open - here they are...

Li NaOn the goal she set earlier this year of reaching the Top 3..."My goal this year was to reach the Top 3 or win another Grand Slam. Maybe I still have a chance at the Top 3. But it's the end of the season, so I may have to wait until next year. After Melbourne, maybe if I win just a couple of matches I can make that goal. But right now I want to make improvements during the off-season, like work on my serve and win more free points. I have to do hard training.

"We are hoping to reach that goal step by step. It won't happen overnight."

On what improvements she made this year..."I was really happy all year with what I was doing on the court. I felt much stronger. It's not only about technique - it's mentally, too. I felt much stronger than before mentally. I'm learning more and more that it doesn't matter what the score is on the court, you still have to believe you can win the match."

Petra KvitovaOn her friendship with Li..."It's true, we are good friends. Almost every week we're practicing before the tournaments, so we know each other very well. But you can't compare practice and matches. That's totally different. She knows me as well as I know her. So I don't think it's really an advantage for either one of us in a match."

On her fans in China..."I was surprised when I came here that I have a lot of fans in China. It's really nice to have them for sure. I'm really glad. I want to say a big thank you to them. When I played Li Na I was expecting they would support her - that wasn't a big surprise - but I heard some fans on my side too, which was nice."

Caroline WozniackiOn the first round bye she had in Beijing..."I love playing against bye. It's always easy. I always win. I have a very good record against bye."

On Duan Ying-Ying, a Chinese up-and-comer she played at the US Open..."Ying-Ying was playing really well and aggressively at the US Open and got me into trouble. I was playing really well there and she gave me struggles. I think she's a player to look for in the future."

Sloane StephensOn whether she thought at the start of the year that she'd even be in the running for Istanbul..."Definitely at the beginning of this year I didn't think at the end of the year I'd be in a position to go to Istanbul even as an alternate, or anything like that. For me I'm just going to keep playing hard and trying my best. It's difficult thinking about trying to make the year-end tournaments, or winning a tournament to play Sofia. I'll try to play my best, play hard, and we'll just have to see what happens.

"But definitely it's a little bit stressful to try to make the year-end Championships!"

Andrea PetkovicOn a special gift she got from the Chinese fans..."I really like when people put a lot of thought into their gifts - it doesn't have to be very expensive. For example I got a really nice set of bookmarks here, with faces of Chinese opera singers on it. There are five of them. I use them all, because I always read two or three books at a time. I have them in all of my books. But it's just a gift that shows me the people are interested in what I do. They know I like to read a lot, and that I read a lot of books. So they got me a really nice gift that I could definitely use.

"And when I look at my books I'm always reminded of Beijing, so that's really nice."

Serena WilliamsOn whether she uses much on-court coaching during her matches..."He doesn't do any coaching at all. It's my moment out there. I have to figure out a way to win if I'm losing; I have to figure out a different way. It's a good, mature thing for me more than anything."

On whether she did any shopping in Beijing..."I had a day off yesterday, so I went to the silk market. What did I buy? Well I bought a lot of things, but I helped my friends buy things more than anything, because I'm really good at negotiations. So that was definitely more my role yesterday. Boy, did I have fun. It was just really thrilling for me."